The Historical Evolution of Psychometric Tests

A psychometric test is a standardized procedure designed to measure people's behavior and describe it using scores or categories. The term "psychometric" comes from the Greek for the words mental and measurement. There are three main areas that psychometric tests explore: the individual's abilities, aptitude for work, and whether their personality fits with the vision of the organization they hope to join.

However, psychometric tests have not always been as we know them today. Since their beginnings in 1880, psychometric tests have undergone a great number of modifications in every possible aspect, improving from their scope to their format.

The origin of the psychometric test as an HR tool

Although the use of psychometric tests is relatively young, the general idea of testing potential workers has a whole history, as it is said that already in ancient China candidates had to take exams in order to obtain valuable occupations that required them to be competent in areas such as fiscal policy, revenue, agriculture, the military, and law.

These tests were far from simple, and it took candidates a whole day and part of the night to complete them; moreover, they were so challenging that they had a passing rate of just over 7%, and then the participants in that 7% had to be among the top 3%. And even if they got the job, they would have to take these tests again every 3 years. It could almost be said that these psychometric tests were intended not only to measure competence but also the candidate's ability to do their best.

The origin of the modern psychometric test

Researchers agree that the first psychometric test in terms of how we identify it today was developed by Francis Galton, who in the 1880s created a testing framework to measure the intelligence of participants based on an examination of their sensory and motor skills. In fact, it was Francis Galton who created the term "psychometric," and his work in developing this efficient psychometric test of sensory and motor skills influenced the renowned psychologist James Cattell, who created the first laboratory dedicated to psychometrics as a science in 1887.

In 1917, Robert Woodworth developed the Personal Data Sheet, a list of symptoms used to detect psychoneuroses in World War I recruits. This sheet would pave the way for other inventions. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Big Five personality test (the Five-Factor Model) was conceived after exhaustive analytical research to measure individual differences in personality, and to this day it remains a well-recognized personality trait model.

Psychometric tests today

Today, psychometric tests are in great demand as a human resources tool. Every employer wants to make sure that their employees are a good fit for the job they were hired for. Therefore, the psychometric industry evolved to allow executives to understand how the potential employee would act in certain circumstances.

Modern psychometric tests range from measuring aptitudes and skills to measuring the candidate's behavior and personality, including the way in which they could respond to different situations that usually arise in a workplace, the degree of adaptability they could have when occupying the position, how they would handle stress and even how they would interact with the team and how long they would stay in the company.

Some of the most popular tests in the human resources area are the DISC test, which analyzes the candidate's personality and behavior in the workplace or outside of it, indicating their strengths and areas of self-development; the 16 PF personality factor questionnaire, which is focused on identifying the possible reactions the person might experience in different work situations; and the numerical reasoning assessment, focused on measuring, analyzing, and determining the candidate's ability to use numerical information as a tool when making decisions.

Although psychometric tests were originally manual, today many of them are available in computerized and online versions, and some include steps that combine manual and automated processes. This test format is considered a significant improvement over paper tests, able to help ensure a standardized experience for the candidate and reduce the human error that can occur with paper tests. If you are looking for a solution of this kind, the Psychometric Tests Platform from Evalart is an excellent alternative.

Certainly, this is a very important moment for the psychometric test industry, as we are on the verge of a new era and, since their beginnings, we have made giant leaps in measuring the strengths and abilities of candidates. It no longer takes 24 hours to complete a test or to go through a completely manual process. Things have certainly changed since the days of Victorian pioneers like Francis Galton, whose early work focused on the origins of intelligence.